Lens barrel and image pickup apparatus

ABSTRACT

A lens barrel that enables to increase a degree of freedom for selecting positions of grooves on a cam barrel. A lens holding member holds a lens and has a follower part. A rectilinear barrel regulates relative rotation of the lens holding member and has a bayonet convex part. The cam barrel has a cam groove with which the follower part engages and a bayonet groove with which the bayonet convex part engages. The positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear barrel in the optical axis direction is regulated because the bayonet convex part contacts the wall surfaces of both sides of the bayonet groove in a WIDE position, and because a section between a wall surface of the bayonet groove and the end face of the cam barrel is pinched between the bayonet convex part and a member provided in the rectilinear barrel in a TELE position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a lens barrel provided in image pickup apparatuses such as a film camera, a digital camera, and to an image pickup apparatus provided with the lens barrel.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, there is a known lens barrel provided with a zoom drive mechanism that regulates rotations of lens holding frames that hold lenses, respectively, by a rectilinear barrel, engages cam followers formed on the lens holding frames with cam grooves formed on a cam barrel, and moves the lens holding frames by rotating the cam barrel to move the lenses to predetermined positions.

A demand to increase a magnification in recent years tends to increase the full length under an extended condition and to enlarge a lens barrel. On the other hand, there is a demand to minimize a camera thickness under a lens retracted condition.

Although a multiple connection of short lens barrels may be effective to decrease the camera thickness under the lens retracted condition, there are many spatial limitations when cam grooves corresponding to the lens barrels are formed on a cam barrel without crossing.

On the other hand, a bayonet groove that is followed by a bayonet convex part provided on a rectilinear barrel is usually formed on an inner surface of a cam barrel. The positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear barrel in an optical axis direction is regulated because the bayonet convex part that fits into the bayonet groove contacts the wall surfaces of both sides in a width direction of the bayonet groove.

However, since cam grooves that are followed by cam followers of lens holding frames are formed on the inner surface of the cam barrel, an arrangement space of the bayonet groove is also restricted.

Therefore, a lens barrel in which a bayonet groove is formed in a circumferential direction so as to cross cam grooves formed on an inner surface of a cam barrel is proposed (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2007-093999 (JP 2007-093999A)).

However, the technique of JP 2007-093999A requires that the bayonet groove crosses every cam groove so that the bayonet convex part straddles over a cam groove when the bayonet convex part passes through the cam groove. If the bayonet groove is not arranged in this manner, the bayonet convex part comes off the bayonet groove when passing through the cam groove, which disables the regulation of the positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear barrel in an optical axis direction. This reduces a degree of freedom for selecting positions of the cam grooves and the bayonet groove on the inner surface of the cam barrel, and increases difficulty to deal with various movements of the lens groups.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a technique that is capable of increasing a degree of freedom for selecting positions of cam grooves and a bayonet groove on an inner surface of a cam barrel so as to deal with various movements of lens groups.

Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention provides a lens barrel that is moved in an optical axis direction between a taking position and a retracted position by a zoom drive mechanism to change magnification, comprising a lens holding member configured to hold a lens and to have a follower part, a rectilinear movement regulating member configured as a barrel that regulates relative rotation of the lens holding member and to have a bayonet convex part at an outside, and a cam barrel configured to have a cam groove with which the follower part engages and a bayonet groove with which the bayonet convex part engages on an inner surface thereof. The cam barrel moves in the optical axis direction while rotating relatively with respect to both of the lens holding member and the rectilinear movement regulating member, the lens holding member moves in the optical axis direction relatively with respect to the cam barrel by engagement of the follower part and the cam groove, and the rectilinear movement regulating member moves in the optical axis direction together with the cam barrel by engagement of the bayonet convex part and the bayonet groove. The positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear movement regulating member in the optical axis direction is regulated because the bayonet convex part contacts the wall surfaces of both sides of the bayonet groove in a width direction in a first relative position of the rectilinear movement regulating member with respect to the cam barrel in the optical axis direction. The positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear movement regulating member in the optical axis direction is regulated because a section between a wall surface at the image surface side of the bayonet groove and the end face at the image surface side of the cam barrel is pinched between the bayonet convex part and a member provided in the rectilinear movement regulating member in the optical axis direction in a second relative position, which is different from the first relative position, of the rectilinear movement regulating member with respect to the cam barrel in the optical axis direction.

Accordingly, a second aspect of the present invention provides an image pickup apparatus provided with the lens barrel according to the first aspect that is moved in an optical axis direction between a taking position and a retracted position by a zoom drive mechanism to change magnification.

Accordingly, since the present invention increases the degree of freedom for selecting positions of the cam grooves and the bayonet groove on the inner surface of the cam barrel, it can deal with various movements of the lens groups.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a digital camera seen from a front side under a power-off condition as an embodiment of an image pickup apparatus that is provided with a lens barrel according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the digital camera shown in FIG. 1 under a power-on condition.

FIG. 3 is a back view showing the digital camera shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing the digital camera shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of the digital camera shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the digital camera shown in FIG. 1 under a condition where the lens barrel is in a WIDE position.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the digital camera shown in FIG. 1 under a condition where the lens barrel is in a TELE position.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a cam barrel and a rectilinear barrel of the lens barrel shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9A is a view showing a positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear barrel of the lens barrel shown in FIG. 6 viewed in the optical axis direction in a retracted position.

FIG. 9B is a side view showing a positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear barrel of the lens barrel shown in 6.

FIG. 10A is a view showing a positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear barrel of the lens barrel shown in FIG. 6 viewed in the optical axis direction in the WIDE position.

FIG. 10B is a side view showing a positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear barrel of the lens barrel shown in FIG. 6 in the WIDE position.

FIG. 11A is a view showing a positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear barrel of the lens barrel shown in FIG. 6 viewed in the optical axis direction in the TELE position.

FIG. 11B is a side view showing the positional relationship between the cam barrel and the rectilinear barrel in the lens barrel shown in FIG. 6 in the TELE position.

FIG. 12 is a development view showing an inner circumference of the cam barrel included in the lens barrel shown in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a digital camera seen from a front side under a power-off condition as an embodiment of an image pickup apparatus that is provided with a lens barrel according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the digital camera shown in FIG. 1 under a power-on condition. FIG. 3 is a back view showing the digital camera shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing the digital camera shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the digital camera 18 of this embodiment is provided with a zoom drive mechanism that moves a lens barrel 19 between a taking position and a retracted position in an optical axis direction to change magnification. A finder 16 for determining composition of a subject, an auxiliary light source 15 for photometric measurement and distance measurement, an electric flash 17, and the lens barrel 19 are mounted on a front side of the digital camera 18. A release button 12, a power supply change button 14, and a zoom switch 13 are arranged on an upper surface of the digital camera 18.

As shown in FIG. 3, a finder eyepiece 20, a display 21 such as an LCD, and operation buttons 22 through 27 are arranged on a back surface of the digital camera 18. As shown in FIG. 4, a tripod fitting part 28, a memory card drive 42 (see FIG. 5), and a cover 29 of a battery insert portion (not shown) are arranged on a bottom surface of the digital camera 18.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of the digital camera 18 of the embodiment.

A CPU 46, a ROM 45, a RAM 47, the release button 12, the operation buttons 22 through 27, the display 21, the power supply change button 14, the zoom switch 13, a memory 40, a compression-extension unit 41, the memory card drive 42, and a drive circuit 43 are connected to a bus 44.

A zoom drive mechanism 30 that drives the lens barrel 19 for zooming, a focus drive mechanism 31 that drives a focusing lens 7, a shutter drive mechanism that drives a shutter 35, and a diaphragm drive mechanism 34 that drives a diaphragm 36 are connected to the drive circuit 43.

An image pickup device 8 such as a CCD sensor, a CMOS sensor, etc. and the electric flash 17 are also connected to the drive circuit 43. Each unit connected to the drive circuit 43 is controlled based on the signal from the CPU 46 through the drive circuit 43.

The ROM 45 stores various control programs etc., and the RAM 47 stores data required of the various control programs. An analog signal processing unit 37 applies an analog process to the image data outputted from the image pickup device 8, and outputs the processed image data to an A/D conversion unit 38.

The A/D conversion unit 38 converts the analog data captured from the image pickup device 8 into digital data, and outputs the converted data to a digital signal processing unit 39. The digital signal processing unit 39 applies a predetermined process to the digital data converted by the A/D conversion unit 38, and outputs it to the memory 40 as image data.

The compression-extension unit 41 applies a compression process like JPEG or TIFF to the image data stored in the memory 40 in response to an operation of the operation button 23. Then, the processed data is outputted and is stored into the memory card set to the memory card drive 42.

The compression-extension unit 41 applies an expansion process to the image data stored in the memory 40 or the image data stored in the memory card. Then, the processed image data can be displayed on the display 21 via the bus 44. When a user looks at the image displayed on the display 21 and determines that it is unnecessary, the user can erase the image data by operating the operation button 24.

Next, the configuration of the lens barrel 19 will be described with reference to FIG. 6 through FIG. 12.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the lens barrel 19 in a WIDE position (a wide-angle position). FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the lens barrel 19 in a TELE position (a telephoto position).

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the lens barrel 19 is provided with a first lens holding frame 3 holding a first lens 1, and a second lens holding frame 4 holding a second lens 2 arranged at the side of the image surface (the side of the image pickup device 8) rather than the first lens 1.

Each of the first lens holding frame 3 and the second lens holding frame 4 has a follower pin (not shown) that follows a cam groove 5 c (see FIG. 12) formed on an inner surface of the cam barrel 5. This follower pin corresponds to an example of the follower part of the present invention. The first lens holding frame 3 and the second lens holding frame 4 are held so that they can move linearly in the optical axis direction under a condition where the rotations are regulated by a rectilinear barrel 6 arranged inside the cam barrel 5. The rectilinear barrel 6 corresponds to an example of the rectilinear movement regulating member of the present invention. Here, each of the first lens holding frame 3 and the second lens holding frame 4 corresponds to an example of the lens holding member of the present invention.

The cam barrel 5 has a follower pin 5 d (see FIG. 8) that follows a cam groove 9 a formed on the inner surface of a fixed barrel 9, and moves in the optical axis direction while rotating by power transferred from the zoom drive mechanism 30. The rectilinear barrel 6 has a rectilinear key 6 c that engages with a rectilinear groove 9 b formed on the inner surface of the fixed barrel 9, and moves linearly in the optical axis direction under a condition where a rotation is regulated while the rectilinear key 6 c is guided by the rectilinear groove 9 b.

A third lens holding frame 10 holding a third lens 7 is arranged between the second lens holding frame 4 and the image pickup device 8, and the image pickup device 8 is held by an image-pickup-device-holding frame 11 fixed to the fixed barrel 9. It should be noted that the third lens 7 acts as the focusing lens in this embodiment.

Since the zoom drive mechanism 30 rotates the cam barrel 5, the cam barrel 5 extends in the optical axis direction, and the first lens holding frame 3 and the second lens holding frame 4 move forward (i.e., to the subject side) in the optical axis direction. At this time, the rectilinear barrel 6 is connected to the cam barrel 5 by a bayonet connection, and moves linearly together with the cam barrel 5 in the optical axis direction.

Here, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 12, three cam pieces 5 a that are extended to the image surface side in the optical axis direction are formed on the edge at the image surface side of the cam barrel 5 at nearly regular intervals in the circumferential direction. It should be noted that three rectilinear ribs 6 a are formed on an outer edge at the image surface side of the rectilinear barrel 6 at nearly regular intervals in the circumferential direction. The rectilinear ribs 6 a do not always engage with the cam pieces 5 a. The rectilinear rib 6 a corresponds to an example of a member provided in the rectilinear movement regulating part of the present invention.

Then, in this embodiment, the cam barrel 5 relatively moves with respect to the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction according to the bayonet connection between the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 mentioned later. It should be noted that the cam pieces 5 a may engage with the rectilinear ribs 6 a in the circumferential direction so that the cam engagement relatively moves the cam barrel 5 with respect to the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction.

In the retracted position (not shown) of the lens barrel 19, the cylindrical parts of the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 are almost overlapped. In the WIDE position (FIG. 6) of the lens barrel 19, the cylindrical part of the cam barrel 5 slightly deviates from the cylindrical part of the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction. In the TELE position (FIG. 7) of the lens barrel 19, the cylindrical parts of the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 are almost overlapped.

The operation of the lens barrel 19 will be described with reference to FIG. 9A through FIG. 11B. FIG. 9A is a view showing a positional relationship between the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 of the lens barrel viewed in the optical axis direction in the retracted position. FIG. 9B is a side view of FIG. 9A.

As shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, in the retracted position of the lens barrel 19, the cylindrical parts of the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 are almost overlapped, and the cam pieces 5 a of the cam barrel 5 are arranged so as to face the rectilinear ribs 6 a of the rectilinear barrel 6 in the circumferential direction. This decreases the length of the lens barrel 19 in the optical axis direction in the retracted position, which decreases the camera thickness under the lens retracted condition.

FIG. 10A is a view showing a positional relationship between the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 of the lens barrel 19 viewed in the optical axis direction in the WIDE position (FIG. 6). FIG. 10B is a side view of FIG. 10A.

As shown in FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B, in the WIDE position of the lens barrel 19, the rectilinear ribs 6 a of the rectilinear barrel 6 run onto the cam pieces 5 a of the cam barrel 5. Accordingly, the rectilinear barrel 6 moves relatively to the image surface side with respect to the cam barrel 5, and the cylindrical part of the cam barrel 5 slightly deviates from the cylindrical part of the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction.

FIG. 11A is a view showing a positional relationship between the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 of the lens barrel 19 viewed in the optical axis direction in the TELE position (FIG. 7). FIG. 11B is a side view of FIG. 11A.

As shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, in the TELE position of the lens barrel 19, the cam pieces 5 a of the cam barrel 5 get over the rectilinear ribs 6 a of the rectilinear barrel 6, and the cam pieces 5 a of the cam barrel 5 are arranged so as to face the rectilinear ribs 6 a of the rectilinear barrel 6 in the circumferential direction. Accordingly, the cylindrical parts of the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 are almost overlapped.

It should be noted that the first lens holding frame 3 tends to move to the front end position at the subject side when the lens barrel 19 is in the TELE position, in general. In that case, since the rectilinear barrel 6 moves to the subject side with respect to the cam barrel 5, the rectilinear barrel 6 accurately regulates the rotation of the first lens holding frame 3. In the TELE position of the lens barrel 19, the first lens 1 and the second lens 2 approach relatively, and move to the front end positions at the subject side with respect to the cam barrel 5.

As shown in FIG. 8, three bayonet convex parts 6 b are formed on the rectilinear barrel 6 at nearly regular intervals in the circumferential direction. A helicoid part 6A is formed on one side of the bayonet convex part 6 b in the circumferential direction, and a helicoid part 6B is formed on the other side thereof.

FIG. 12 is a development view showing the inner surface of the cam barrel 5. As shown in FIG. 12, a circumferential groove 5 b to which the bayonet convex part 6 b follows when the cam barrel 5 rotates is extended and formed on the inner surface of the cam barrel 5 in the end area at the image surface side in the circumferential direction. In a middle area of the circumferential groove 5 b, the helicoid grooves 5A and 5B to which the bayonet convex part 6 b follows when the cam barrel 5 rotates are formed.

The helicoid groove 5A is formed so as to correspond to the helicoid part 6A of the bayonet convex part 6 b, and extends aslant in a direction away from the circumferential groove 5 b toward the subject side. On the other hand, the helicoid groove 5B is formed so as to correspond to the helicoid part 6B of the bayonet convex part 6 b, and extends aslant in a direction away from the circumferential groove 5 b toward the subject side and away from the helicoid groove 5A. That is, the helicoid grooves 5A and 5B are symmetrically arranged with respect to the circumferential groove 5 b, and are arranged aslant so as to separate to each other towards the subject side.

The most distant edge of the helicoid groove 5B from the circumferential groove 5 b is a following start point for the bayonet convex part 6 b to the helicoid groove 5B. The most distant edge of the helicoid groove 5A from the circumferential groove 5 b is a following end point for the bayonet convex part 6 b to the helicoid groove 5A.

In this embodiment, three sets of the combination of the circumferential groove 5 b and the helicoid grooves 5A and 5B are arranged on the inner surface of the cam barrel 5 at the nearly regular intervals in the circumferential direction. Then, a circumferential groove 5 e, which is parallel to the circumferential groove 5 b, connects the following end point for the bayonet convex part 6 b to the helicoid groove 5A with the following start point for the bayonet convex part 6 b to the adjacent helicoid groove 5B in the circumferential direction. Here, the circumferential grooves 5 b and 5 e and the helicoid grooves 5A and 5B correspond to examples of the bayonet grooves of the present invention.

Then, in the retracted position of the lens barrel 19, the bayonet convex part 6 b is arranged at the following start point of the helicoid groove 5B, and the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 are connected by the bayonet connection. At this time, as described in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the cylindrical parts of the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 are almost overlapped, and the cam pieces 5 a of the cam barrel 5 are arranged so as to face the rectilinear ribs 6 a of the rectilinear barrel 6 in the circumferential direction.

Next, the bayonet convex part 6 b follows along with the helicoid groove 5B as the cam barrel 5 rotates relatively to the rectilinear barrel 6, and reaches the circumferential groove 5 b. At this time, the lens barrel 19 is in the WIDE position, as described in FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B, the rectilinear barrel 6 moves to the image surface side with respect to the cam barrel 5, and the cylindrical part of the cam barrel 5 slightly deviates from the cylindrical part of the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction.

When the lens barrel 19 is in the WIDE position, the first lens 1 is in the most distant position from the second lens 2 relatively in the optical axis direction, and the second lens holding frame 4 is in the most distant position from the cam barrel 5 at the image surface side in the optical axis direction.

Here, in this embodiment, the cam groove 5 c of the cam barrel 5 to which the follower pin of the second lens holding frame 4 follows in the WIDE position of the lens barrel 19 is extended to the inner surface of the cam piece 5 a. This lengthens the strokes of the first lens 1 and the second lens 2 by the difference (Y−X) in FIG. 9. As a result, the magnification of the camera can be increased.

Then, when the cam barrel 5 rotates relatively with respect to the rectilinear barrel 6, the bayonet convex part 6 b enters into the helicoid groove 5B from the circumferential groove 5 b, follows the helicoid groove 5B, passes through the following end point of the helicoid groove 5B, enters into the cam groove 5 c, and reaches the circumferential groove 5 e. At this time, the lens barrel 19 is in the TELE position, the cam pieces 5 a of the cam barrel 5 get over the rectilinear ribs 6 a of the rectilinear barrel 6, and the cam pieces 5 a are arranged so as to face the rectilinear ribs 6 a in the circumferential direction, the cylindrical parts of the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 are almost overlapped as described in FIG. 11. It should be noted that operations of the lens barrel 19 from the TELE position to the retracted position will be reverse order to the above operations.

Incidentally, in the WIDE position of the lens barrel 19, the bayonet convex part 6 b of the rectilinear barrel 6 is fitted into the circumferential groove 5 b of the cam barrel 5. That is, the positional relationship between the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction is regulated because the bayonet convex part 6 b of the width A shown in FIG. 6 that fits into the circumferential groove 5 b of the width a shown in FIG. 12 contacts the wall surfaces of both sides of the circumferential groove 5 b in a width direction (the optical axis direction). Here, the WIDE position corresponds to an example of the first relative position of the present invention.

In the retracted position of the lens barrel 19, since the bayonet convex part 6 b of the rectilinear barrel 6 is fitted into the helicoid groove 5B of the cam barrel 5, the positional relationship between the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction is regulated.

On the other hand, in the TELE position of the lens barrel 19, the bayonet convex part 6 b contacts the wall surface of the circumferential groove 5 e, which is extended into the cam groove 5 c, at the image surface side in the optical axis direction. That is, in the cam groove 5 c, the side wall of the circumferential groove 5 e is formed at the image surface side only, and the subject side is opened. Therefore, in the TELE position of the lens barrel 19, the circumferential groove 5 e cannot regulate the positional relationship between the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction singly, unlike the circumferential groove 5 b.

Therefore, this embodiment makes the bayonet convex part 6 b of the rectilinear barrel 6 contact the wall surface at the image surface side of the circumferential groove 5 e and makes the rectilinear rib 6 a of the rectilinear barrel 6 contact the end face at the image surface side of the cam barrel 5 in the TELE position of the lens barrel 19.

Accordingly, a section of the width β (see FIG. 12) between the wall surface at the image surface side of the circumferential groove 5 e of the cam barrel 5 and the end face at the image surface side of the cam barrel 5 is pinched between the bayonet convex part 6 b and the rectilinear rib 6 a of the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction (see the width B in FIG. 7). Accordingly, the positional relationship between the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction in the TELE position of the lens barrel 19 is regulated. Here, the TELE position corresponds to an example of the second relative position of the present invention, and the rectilinear rib 6 a corresponds to an example of the member provided in the rectilinear barrel of the present invention.

As described above, in this embodiment, the positions of the cam barrel 5 and the rectilinear barrel 6 in the optical axis direction are regulated by pinching the inner edge at the image surface side of the cam barrel 5 between the bayonet convex part 6 b and the rectilinear rib 6 a in the optical axis direction in the TELE position of the lens barrel 19. Accordingly, since the circumferential groove 5 e can open the wall surface at the subject side in at least the TELE position of the lens barrel 19, it becomes unnecessary that the bayonet groove is arranged across the cam groove 5 c so that the bayonet convex part 6 b straddles over the cam groove 5 c as the prior art. As a result, since the degree of freedom for selecting positions of the cam grooves 5 c and the bayonet grooves 5 b, 5 e, 5A, and 5B on the inner surface of the cam barrel of the lens barrel 19 increases, the lens barrel 19 can deal with various movements of the lens groups.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-081922, filed on Mar. 31, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 

1. A lens barrel that is moved in an optical axis direction between a taking position and a retracted position by a zoom drive mechanism to change magnification, comprising: a lens holding member configured to hold a lens and to have a follower part; a rectilinear movement regulating member configured as a barrel that regulates relative rotation of said lens holding member and to have a bayonet convex part at an outside; and a cam barrel configured to have a cam groove with which the follower part engages and a bayonet groove with which the bayonet convex part engages on an inner surface thereof, wherein said cam barrel moves in the optical axis direction while rotating relatively with respect to both of said lens holding member and said rectilinear movement regulating member, said lens holding member moves in the optical axis direction relatively with respect to said cam barrel by engagement of the follower part and the cam groove, and said rectilinear movement regulating member moves in the optical axis direction together with said cam barrel by engagement of the bayonet convex part and the bayonet groove, wherein the positional relationship between said cam barrel and said rectilinear movement regulating member in the optical axis direction is regulated because the bayonet convex part contacts the wall surfaces of both sides of the bayonet groove in a width direction in a first relative position of said rectilinear movement regulating member with respect to said cam barrel in the optical axis direction, and wherein the positional relationship between said cam barrel and said rectilinear movement regulating member in the optical axis direction is regulated because a section between a wall surface at the image surface side of the bayonet groove and the end face at the image surface side of said cam barrel is pinched between the bayonet convex part and a member provided in said rectilinear movement regulating member in the optical axis direction in a second relative position, which is different from the first relative position, of said rectilinear movement regulating member with respect to said cam barrel in the optical axis direction.
 2. The lens barrel according to claim 1, wherein the member provided in said rectilinear movement regulating member is a rectilinear rib.
 3. The lens barrel according to claim 2, wherein said cam barrel has a cam piece that is extended from an edge at the image surface side in the optical axis direction and that engages with the rectilinear rib, a part of the cam groove is formed on an inner surface of the cam piece, and wherein the cam piece is formed so that the rectilinear rib runs onto the cam piece when said rectilinear movement regulating member moves in the optical axis direction relatively with respect to said cam barrel.
 4. The lens barrel according to claim 1, wherein the first relative position is a wide-angle position and the second relative position is a telephoto position.
 5. The lens barrel according to claim 1, wherein a cylindrical part of said cam barrel and a cylindrical part of said rectilinear movement regulating member are overlapped in the retracted position and in a telephoto position, and the cylindrical part of said cam barrel deviates from the cylindrical part of said rectilinear movement regulating member in the optical axis direction in a wide-angle position.
 6. An image pickup apparatus provided with the lens barrel according to claim 1 that is moved in an optical axis direction between a taking position and a retracted position by a zoom drive mechanism to change magnification. 